Alright, here we go with the third chapter. I'll try to update every story today because I feel like I am falling behind. I'll try to get the last chapter of Dragon Myth uploaded as soon as possible, but it doesn't look like that will work out because the internet doesn't want to go through with the laptop. I'm actually sort of busy today so I don't know if I can actually get chapters up, but I'll try.

I really didn't like how this chapter turned out. Also, it doesn't look like I can actually upload the chapters for the other stories today. Sorry, but I got really busy with other things.

Here's the chapter. Enjoy.

Justin and Athena started their adventure, hoping to see amazing sights. The two mages used very different types of magic. Athena was a sword mage, using magical and ordinary swords to deal damage. Her personal goal was to collect all ten of the Wrathful Swords, swords that held incredible abilities. On the other hand, Justin used fire magic. His goal was to join Fairy Tail and hopefully become a successful mage, like his parents before him.

The two were heading towards Magnolia, the city where Fairy Tail was situated. There, they would look for jobs anybody needed done, and Justin and Athena would apply for Fairy Tail. From then on, they would take jobs until they could compete in the S-Class trials. However, as they walked the path to Magnolia, dark guild members were stalking them, waiting for the right moment to strike…

The road to Magnolia is long, filled with forests, villages, and long grass plains. Currently, Athena and Justin were walking through one of the forests on the way to Magnolia. It was a well known fact that dark guilds were often situated in the forest, and that rogue mercenary armies travelled through the forest, forcing anyone they found to join them. However, Athena and Justin were willing to take the risks.

Unfortunately, fate had dealt them a bad hand. A group of bandits was hanging out near the trees, keeping watch in case any soldiers came. There were three of them, each one wearing a black bandana that went around their neck. One of them was missing several teeth, a scraggly grey beard going down his dirty grey shirt. Another was holding a twisted iron bar, wearing a black jacket and blue jeans. He was keeping track of the road. The last bandit was hidden behind a tree, chewing on something. He had a baseball bat and it was stained black with dried blood.

"Ey, I think we got something, George." said the bandit with the iron bar as the bandit with the baseball bat came out from behind the tree, adjusting his bandana.

George grinned and scratched his brown hair as he looked at the bandit with the grey beard.

"Beardy, show Henry how it's done." grinned George as the bandit with the beard nodded his head, the three bandits hiding behind trees.

The bandits were completely hidden, and they watched as Athena and Justin passed by, Beardy coming from behind the trees. The bandit named George grinned as Beardy slammed the two mage's heads together, Henry and George coming out of the trees and looking down at the two.

"They didn't even know what hit them." laughed George as he spit on the ground and grabbed Justin.

…

"Wake up, Justin!"

Athena's voice brought Justin back into the real world, the black haired mage shaking his head, trying to figure out where he was. His head pounded as he looked around the room. The room was made of dirty wood, and was empty besides a box in the middle of the room. There was a door right in front of them, and the door looked to be extremely old. The air smelled damp, like the entire room had recently been filled with water. The wood on the floor was slimy, and algae could be seen in certain places.

"W-what? What's going on? Where are we?" Justin asked as he rubbed his head, trying to figure out what was going on.

There was the sound of something moving outside of the room, and Athena made the motion to be quiet. Once everything had quieted down, they could hear the sound of many people talking at once. But there was the sound of three outside the door. Their arms were tied, but their feet were not, so Justin walked up to the keyhole in the door, and peeked through it.

Three bandits were on the other side of the door, sitting at a table and eating food. The other room didn't look much better than the room where Athena and Justin were. The bandits were eating and talking about their "master" and other things that sounded like suspicious guild activity. Justin moved away from the door and sat back against the wall, thinking about what he had just seen and heard. Athena asked what he had seen, and Justin quickly told her, the sword mage quickly piecing it together.

"They're a dark guild, Justin! They probably want to sell us to those mercenary armies! We have to get out right now!" said Athena urgently as she started to pick away at the wood in the room.

"Calm down! We have to think about this! We can't just go rushing out! What if there are more?" whispered Justin as Athena stopped and sat back against the wood, a defeated look on her face.

It looked as if Athena was about to say something, when suddenly there was a commotion outside of the door. There was a series of curses and then the sound of a sword being drawn. Justin froze in fear, but Athena charged ahead to the door, to see what was going. The bandits had left the table, but one was standing in front of the door. His face couldn't be seen, but he was holding what appeared to be a pistol.

"Get back! I'll kill you, bastard!" he roared as the pistol shot rang throughout the room, Justin letting out a frightened shout at the loud noise, Athena grimacing.

There was a squishy noise as the bandit fell to the ground, his blood spraying across the floor. The sound of boots sounded on the wooden floor, and Athena had to cover her mouth to stop herself from screaming. She saw a figure walk by the door, hand passing by the keyhole. Athena was about to move away from the door and tell Justin had what happened, when another man appeared, his blood red eyes staring straight at Athena. The eyes passed on, Athena's heart slamming in her throat as she moved back quietly, shaking from what she had just seen.

Justin was shaking in fear, and Athena tried to tell him what had happened, but he wouldn't respond. The sound of boots disappeared, and Athena's breathing returned to normal, her heart slowing down as she breathed in and out, trying to stay calm. Justin stopped shaking and looked around the damp room, trying to figure out what was going on. He slowly stood, walking up to the door, and trying to open the door with his hands. It was locked, but he started to put pressure on the door, and it crumbled easily.

"C-come on…" whispered Justin as the two stepped out into the room.

It was an awful sight. The three bandits were dead, stab wounds all over their bodies. Blood covered the floor and Justin threw up at the sight of the bandit who held the pistol, his throat cut. The two maneuvered around the bodies carefully, and found a nail that was sticking out of the wood. They used it to cut their ropes and Athena looked around the room, and then back at Justin. Her eyes were scared, and her voice was shaking.

"I saw them, Justin. One of them looked right at me! We need to go, now. We have to tell Fairy Tail about this!" she said as Justin nodded his head quickly.

"Y-yeah, let's get out of here!" Justin said frantically as he ran out the door, Athena following him close behind.

The two mages were ran, leaving the wooden buildings behind, the screams coming from the buildings propelling them towards Fairy Tail. They had to report this to Makarov.

Fairy Tail

Thankfully, the rest of the way to Magnolia was normal. The two mages were still a little bit shaken up, but the sight of the beautiful city calmed them. The outdoors market was busy as usual, and the legendary Fairy Tail guild awaited them at the top of a large hill. Despite having seen several dead people just a few minutes ago, Justin trembled with excitement. He had always wanted to join Fairy Tail, and now his dream was about to come true!

"This is going to be so awesome!" shouted Justin in excitement as Athena smiled, walking up the hill.

The two mages walked up the hill, and finally arrived at the wooden doors of Fairy Tail. Justin grabbed the door handle and pulled the doors open, looking in awe at how beautiful the guild was. Athena was looking as well, but as soon as the doors opened, a sandwich had actually hit her in the face. Thankfully, nothing had spilled on her, and the two continued into the guild. Justin was having the time of his life, looking at all the people in the guild, and Athena was in awe as well.

The guild was loud, messy, and was filled with people, but the two managed to squeeze through. They headed for Makarov's office and knocked on the door. The door opened by itself and Makarov was sitting in his desk, reading a newspaper. He noticed the two mages and looked up, grinning.

"Hello, and welcome to Fairy Tail!" he shouted cheerfully.

Makarov motioned for them to sit, and Justin and Athena sat in the two chairs that were in front of Makarov's desk. The door closed behind them, the office growing strangely quiet, like it was a soundproof room. Makarov put the paper away and looked at the two.

"What brings you to Fairy Tail, strangers?" he asked, Justin gripping the chair arm tightly as he thought about what had happened.

"We want to join Fairy Tail, but…we have to tell you something." said Justin sadly as Makarov raised an eyebrow at Justin's words.

"Tell me about what?" Makarov asked, Athena taking over.

"We were actually taken captive by a dark guild a while before we got here. We thought we would be sold to a mercenary army, but instead, two people entered the dark guild….and slaughtered everyone." explained Athena darkly as Makarov nodded his head.

Athena described what one of the men looked like, and Makarov looked surprised when she finished. Justin watched as Makarov nodded his head slowly, and took something out of his desk, showing it to the two mages.

"You've been accepted into the guild, however, you cannot leave until Team Natsu returns from their mission. I know who you saw in that dark guild. His name is Hudson*, and he's a dangerous rogue mage. He often worked alone, so I have no idea who the other person is. Also, I believe there is someone you should meet. There is someone else that has seen something strange as well." said Makarov as he gave the paper to Justin.

Justin folded the paper and put it in his pocket, and Makarov stood, opening the door to his office and stepping out into the noisy guild. Athena and Justin followed him, and Makarov pointed towards a lunch table in the very corner of the guild. One person sat at it, dressed in ragged looking camo t-shirt with black pants and black boots. His brown hair was messy, and he was watching the guild with a blank look on his face.

"His name is Mitsu. He saw something interesting as well. Maybe he'll tell you something," Makarov said helpfully as Justin thanked him, and the two mages made their way towards the mage named Mitsu.

Could he really help them? What did he see?

*Mitsu POV*

I was watching the guild member's activities when they came up to me. They were a strange pair. One was a girl, the other was a boy. The boy was a little older than me, wearing a grey t-shirt with some dirt smudges, and he had a smile on his face. The girl was blonde, hair tied into a pony tail with a red headband around her forehead. She was dressed in white, although the clothes were smudged with dirt, and she was smiling at me. I gave them the usual look.

"What is it? You have business with me?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

"Makarov said that you saw something strange. Oh, we're new in the guild by the way. My name is Athena, and that is Justin." said the blonde cheerfully as Justin waved.

I nodded my head and the two of them sat down at the table. I usually didn't like the company, but they didn't seem snoopy at all. They told me what they saw first, and to be honest, I was a little surprised. What I saw didn't even compare to what they had seen.

"You saw two killers killing dark mages? They killed the entire guild?" I asked as they nodded, "Well, what I saw was a burning field, a man walking out of the fire, completely unharmed. He was carrying a double bladed sword and he looked right at me, like he was challenging me. I got out of there as soon as I could." said Mitsu.

"What do you think these events mean? I mean, does this have to do with all the windstorms, the sun getting hotter, and stuff like that?" Justin asked Mitsu shrugged.

"I don't know, but to tell you the truth, if it really does have to with all of this, I'm staying as far away as I can. Those people we saw, they're bad news, Really, really bad news."

Arcana, The Fortress

The palace was unusually quiet, not many people were stirring. The soldiers were all outside, training, and the maids and servants had gone to do other things. They only place where life truly stirred was the gardens, where Paco sat, observing ants carrying leaves to their mound. The king enjoyed the garden, and he often spent hours looking at all the creatures within it. Paco was still watching ants when he heard his son call out to him.

"Father, we found some dead people, a lot of dead people."

The king turned to see his son walking towards him, his brown hair filled with clumps of dirt. He was a tall young man, much taller than his father, and he was wearing his armor, his sword by his side. His eyes were filled with urgency, and Paco nodded.

"How many did you find?" the king asked, trying to hide the sadness in his voice.

"An entire guild, at least fifty were dead. Father, I need answers. Please, I have to know what is going on!" pleaded the prince as Paco nodded his head and turned to look at his son.

"Darius**, you know the ancient stories of this land. If you can remember the story, its title was The Court of Nine." said Paco calmly as the prince grew frustrated and impatient.

"Yes, father, I know, But how does that relate to what is happening?" he asked, Paco looking him in the eye.

"These events signal only one thing: the judging of the magical world by the Court of Nine***."

…

Quite a long chapter, this one. One OC appeared so far, Lunar Blaze's OC, and I will be implementing more later in the story. This chapter took a while to figure out, and I think it was a little weird. Let me know what you think.

References: *This Hudson is a character you haven't seen before. He's the original Hudson that I created for Hudson Story.

**This is Darius II, not the first Darius

***The Court of Nine is just the name given by those who live in Fiore. The people of the other continents have different names for the group.

I hope this chapter was alright, and the other OCs will be appearing soon! FF